Julia Gillard to hand Sachin Tendulkar Aussie honour

INDIAN cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar will be given an Order of Australia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard revealed today.

Phillip Hudson in New Delhi

News Corp Australia newspapersOctober 16, 20125:18pm

Shane Warne & Sachin Tendulkar head indoors out of rain at The Oval ground in London as practice session was called off at the 1999 World Cup. Picture: David WhiteSource:The Daily Telegraph

INDIAN cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar will be given an Order of Australia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard revealed today.

The Prime Minister revealed the rare honour during a visit to New Delhi, where she met with children in a slum playing cricket.

“This is a very special honour, very rarely awarded to someone who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian national,” Ms Gillard said.

“(It is) a very special recognition of such a great batsman.”

Tendulkar will receive an AM, making him a member of the Order of Australia.

Sachin TendulkarSource:Herald Sun

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott was quick to question the decision, posting on Twitter: "Does anyone have a problem with Aust. honours being handed out to citizens of other nations?I'm probably on a limb,but I do ..."

The batting legend was not present as he is currently in South Africa playing in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament. He will receive his award later from Arts Minister Simon Crean.

“Cricket is of course a great bond between Australia and India. We are both cricket-mad nations,” Ms Gillard said.

However, the PM refused to have a bat or a bowl herself.

“I wasn’t tempted to showcase my skills … because I don’t really have any skills, so that would be a problem,” she said.

Tendulkar has played more times against Australian than any other cricketer, with 106 matches across Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals.

He becomes the first non-Australian cricketer to receive the Order of Australia since Brian Lara, who was given the award in 2009 "for service to Australia-Caribbean relations by promoting goodwill, friendship and sportsmanship through the sport of cricket".

Two other West Indies greats have also received the honour: Clive Lloyd in 1985 and Sir Garfield Sobers in 2003, but Sobers is an Australian citizen through marriage.